Paula Brannon has many people to thank for helping her get through her battle with breast cancer, but she has one person to thank for her getting diagnosed — her sister.

“I had a guardian angel — my sister. She had an abnormal mammogram and called all of us sisters to go and get checked,” Brannon said. “A lady that my sister didn’t know had come up to her and told her that someone close to her needed to go get checked.

“So I did a self-examination and found my lump.”

Only 38 at the time, Brannon, of Dumas, said she hadn’t begun her yearly mammograms and had no history of breast cancer in her family. Thankful for the push from her sister, she was still shocked to find out her prognosis.

“It was very hard at first, never thought it could happen to me since it didn’t run in the family,” she said. “My cancer was stage 3 and very aggressive, so I didn’t know if the treatment would help me. I had a lot of good friends and family who helped me, so it made it easier to cope with. Although I was shocked, I think it was harder for my husband to accept.”

After a biopsy and a mastectomy with lumpectomy in her right breast, Brannon started chemotherapy and followed up with radiation treatments. Seven months after her diagnosis, she started reconstruction.

Through all her treatments, she said, her firm faith in God, family and, most importantly, her grandchildren, helped her get through it all.

Now that she is a survivor, Brannon said she participates in cancer walks throughout the year and donates to different organizations in hopes of informing others.

Through her experience, she said she learned that although tiring and emotionally draining, she had to stay positive and allow others to help her.

Staying busy and not feeling sorry for herself also helped keep her eyes on the end result — surviving. Now that she is a survivor, Pinktober means one thing to her — a blessing.

“October shows that people do care and that you are not alone in your fight,” Brannon said. “It gives people the opportunity to express their support and love.”